The Counter-Reformation's Redefinition Of Italian Art

In the 16th and 17th centuries the Baroque style of art spread across Europe. Though each place had it's own specific take on the movement, all art became more dramatic and engaging. The style largely evolved because of the religious climate of the time. With the Reformation gaining strength, the Catholic church began the Counter-Reformation in Rome. The Counter-Reformation's redefinition of art's role in the churches was the strongest influence on Italian art as it developed into Baroque art. The Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther published his 95 theses in protest against the Catholic Church. The problems raised by Luther mainly targeted the absolute power of the priesthood. Church and state were mostly the same entity in pre-Reformation
Europe. The Pope was the authority figure, and only he could revise the church, interpret scripture, or call a council to consider changes to policy. The Pope's absolute power, however, was not often used. Because of this the church had not changed and corruption had entered the ranks of the priesthood. The corruption led to a large gap developing between the priests and their congregations. The priests were also the sole preachers for the community. Luther despised this power, believing that all men should be able to read and study scripture for themselves. This was particularly important as many of the rural priests were uneducated in the language of the scriptures, leaving them and the people grasping at straws for how to get to Heaven. Luther's protests, ideas and other concerns, like the selling of Indulgences and the doctrine of Transubstantiation, seemed to spread like wildfire across Europe. England underwent its own reformation and break from the church and Holland split into the Dutch Republic and Flanders. People across Europe were looking at the Catholic Church as an enemy, rather than a way to salvation. It was quickly losing its control over the continent. The Catholic Church knew it was in trouble. Quickly losing the esteem of the people, it needed to make amends if it wanted to stay in power. Pope Paul III called for a council to review and make changes to the church. This council, called the Council of Trent, convened three times over the next 18 years. Most of the changes made dealt with the corruption of the church and the priesthood. The practice of absenteeism, where bishops lived in lavish estates far from their dioceses, was banned. From now on, the bishops were to live where they supposedly ministered and know the people they were in charge of. The council also addressed the problem of uneducated clergymen. They began to enforce the education of priests, ensuring that they were teaching from the scriptures and not from their own thoughts. It also provisioned for a seminary in every diocese to prepare future clergy. The Council's only decision on doctrine was merely to reaffirm the Church's position. Indulgences, the veneration of Saints, the doctrine of transubstantiation, and other controversial doctrines remained in place. The Council of Trent and reform of the clergy were good starts to the Counter-Reformation, however the Church needed another way to bring the people back into the fold. This is when art became exceedingly significant. In contrast to Calvinists disdain for art as idolatry, the Catholic Church asserted the importance of art in bringing us to Christ. Art assisted in closing the gap between the people and the church. As the Counter-Reformation began, the role of art developed into being a way to re-involve the people in the scriptures and the Catholic Church. As the role of art changed to be more personal, the art also became more dynamic and captivating.
Art has always played a large role in religion.
However, in Medieval times, the paintings were flat, the figure's eyes looking at you, but not seeing you. Their stylized faces were austere and judgemental, and the gold background seemed to put the figures in a different dimension than the viewer. The purpose of art in Medieval churches is to intimidate the viewers into submission. As the Renaissance ran its course, the figures became more realistic, and the perspective and backgrounds led to paintings that were like 'windows on the world.' But the paintings are almost too perfect. The introduction of chiaroscuro leads to figures so lovely and idealized that they are also intimidating. The figures are usually involved in their own scene, not looking out to the viewers. Though these paintings inspire feelings of amazement and awe, they also create the feeling that you are, once again, below the venerated figures. The Reformation criticized this gap, and so the art of the Counter-Reformation takes a different approach. Rather than a window on the world, Baroque art attempts to be a doorway to the world. Standing by a painting creates feelings of amazement, but also makes it seem like you are a part of the scene, and on the same level as the figures within. The theme of involving the people in the church and in the art pieces really sets the course of the development of Baroque
art.
One of the techniques used to make art inclusive was making the people look more ordinary.
This style, called naturalism, was also a strong theme in Hellenistic Greece. This meant that instead of idealized, beautiful people, the figures in the paintings were modelled after normal, everyday people. There were signs of age, wrinkles, imperfections. However, the content was still Saints and scripture stories. This made the acts of religious fervor performed in the scenes seem much more attainable, as the viewers identified with the portrayed figures. There are many examples of people who are portrayed with natural flaws. One extreme example of this technique is found in the Death of a Virgin by Caravaggio. The painting shows the death of Mary, mother of Jesus, a scene found in many churches. However, rather than show Mary as graceful or beautiful or include a secondary scene of her ascension to heaven, he portrays Mary as dead. The model for Mary was a dead prostitute, making the painting realistic in the color and state of the body. Though highly offensive to the church it was commissioned by, the idea of portraying things as they were in the every day was a powerful one in attempting to bring people to the church through art. The inclusive nature of Counter-Reformation art really emphasized the Naturalism of the Baroque
era.
The idea of involving viewers in the paintings also led to a heightened sense of drama. Before, in Medieval and Renaissance paintings, the figures portrayed were calm and unconcerned. However, this is ineffectual if the goal is to engage the viewer. Baroque art focuses on making the scenes intense and compelling using several different techniques. One of the most popular and widespread was the use of diagonal lines. This is a change from the perfect symmetry and balance of the Renaissance. Instead, it created a feeling of action and motion. One of the best examples of diagonal lines is in the painting Entombment by Caravaggio. In this scene, the heads are lined up in a diagonal leading to Christ at the bottom. In addition the diagonal creates a feeling of motion towards the grave, where he is about to be buried. The painting also exemplifies the idea of drama with the figures poses. The arms thrown in the air and the expressions on their faces show the grief and pain they feel, and by extension make you feel the same. Their emotion stirs emotion in us, bringing us into the painting, and involving us in the story and by extension the church. Another common technique for creating drama is extreme lighting. Tenebrism, a style of lighting created by Caravaggio, is characterized by high contrast between darks and lights. The light seems like it is coming from a flash of lightning, harsh and highly directional. The contrast creates a feeling of tension, making it more interesting to look at and more engaging to view. A good example of tenebristic lighting is shown in the painting John the Baptist by Caravaggio. Without intense lighting, it is a simple, rather boring, portrait. However the light brings a new dimension into the painting, and makes it more energetic, dramatic, and easier to connect to. The dramatic lighting and use of diagonals were successful techniques designed to immerse viewers in the story, thereby fulfilling the Catholic purpose of bringing them to the church.
Since the purpose of the Counter-Reformation was to bring people to the church, art in that time was meant to bring the church to the people. This meant that the paintings tried to include the viewers in a way no other art had before. It tried to make you feel like a part of the scene. A simple way to accomplish this is through large scale portraits. Unlike the small paintings of the Dutch Republic, Italian Baroque paintings continued to be large scale canvases or wall frescoes. These canvases enabled the paintings to envelop you and include you in the scenes depicted. Those scenes also used several techniques to make you feel like a part of the story. Foreshortening, one of those techniques, uses perspective to make it seem like the objects and figures are extending out towards you. Perspective in Renaissance art was usually used in the background, extending out through the scenery. Backgrounds in Baroque art aren't usually highly developed, instead focusing on what is close. The foreshortening especially creates the effect that you could reach out and touch the scene. The technique is best represented in the painting Christ Appearing to St. Peter by Carracci. In it, Christ's arm extends almost straight out towards us, gesturing. He is even in motion, adding to the effect that he will soon enter our space. The invasion of our space makes it seem like we could join Peter in his amazement on the road. This approach pulls us into the painting, continuing the Counter-Reformation theme of inclusion.
Artists of the Baroque Era also pulled in the viewer and included them in the scene through the framing of the painting. Before now, most paintings included complete figures in the scene, and any figures hidden behind other people were at least mostly visible.. However, artists now focused on painting what you would see if you were there, and that limits the contents to what our eyes can see. Paintings now include figures missing their bottom halves and parts of their shoulders. An example of this principle is in the Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist by Caravaggio, where part of her shoulder overflows the frame. The painting also stops at their torso, and the older woman in the back is half hidden in a way that matches what we would see in person. Often to use this technique, artists will leave an object in a corner of the painting to increase the idea that you are part of the scene. The framing of the painting has a strong influence on the viewer’s participation in the painting, and how much it fulfills its role of bringing them into the religious scene and into the church. Baroque art, and especially Italian Baroque art, really came into being because of the influence of the Catholic church on art. Without their support and the ideas they backed, the style of art could have developed very differently. The drama and energy of Baroque art owes a lot to the emphasis of the Counter-Reformation on bringing the people back to the church, and the church back to the people, through art.